NIA court clears Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi of all charges

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court on Thursday cleared Sibsagar MLA Akhil Gogoi in all cases registered against him related to the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) violence in Assam in December 2019.

The court said there is insufficient material against Gogoi to frame charges against him.

With this, Akhil walked out of the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where he was being treated for various ailments after the court sent the release order to the Guwahati Central Jail.

Gogoi was charged under anti-terror law UAPA [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967] and was also accused of sedition. His three aides were also cleared in the case over their alleged role in violent anti-CAA protests that broke out in the state after the law was cleared by parliament.

Several cases were filed against Gogoi in police stations across Assam — Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Gaurisagar, Teok, Jorhat — following the violence, out of which two (Chandmari and Chabua) were taken over by the NIA. In both cases, he was charged with sedition and UAPA, among other offences.

Gogoi was cleared of all cases against him, including the Chabua case, last month. The charges against him in the first of the two cases were dropped on 22 June.

However, the bail plea for the Chandmari case was rejected by the Gauhati High Court in January and later by the Supreme Court in February. This particular case was initially registered by Assam police at Chandmari police station and later it was handed over to the NIA.

In the recently held State Assembly elections, the Raijor Dal president became the first jailed leader in Assam to win an Assembly election. He won from the Sibsagar constituency with a margin of 11,875 votes.

Last week, Gogoi was granted a 48-hour parole to visit his ailing mother. He also spent time at his rented residence in Guwahati with his wife and son.